Sing Along With Swift: 'Reputation' Edition Quiz

Answer: King Of My Heart

'Reputation' was Taylor Swift's sixth studio album and was released in November 2017. Swift worked with former musical collaborators Max Martin, Shellback and Jack Antonoff to produce the record. The album's distinctive sound incorporates elements of hip hop and electropop and, in my opinion, is Swift's most daring album to date, both lyrically and musically.

Answer: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

'Reputation' was Taylor Swift's first album since 2014's '1989' which was a huge global commercial and critical success and saw Swift moving away completely from her country roots for a more purely pop sound.

In the three years between the two albums Swift had become the subject of intense and frequently negative media scrutiny. Her romantic relationships, which had long been fodder for media speculation, continued to be reported on with relish while stories about her rumoured feuds with other celebrities continued to circulate. Many of the songs on 'Reputation' deal with Swift's feelings of frustration with the way she was being portrayed and with her anger at personal betrayals which she had experienced.

While 'This Is Can't Have Nice Things' certainly channels some of this anger, the lyrics are, like many of the tracks on 'Reputation', also quite playful.

Answer: ...Ready For It?

'...Ready For It?' was the second single to be released from 'Reputation' in 2017 and is, in my opinion, an absolute banger! It is an electropop song which incorporates elements of industrial pop and hip hop. It became a modest hit, reaching the top ten of singles charts in several countries including the USA, Australia and Canada.

Answer: Dress

'Dress' is a really beautiful song about desire and redemptive love. Thematically, 'Reputation' is mixed between songs about anger and revenge and very tender and optimistic love songs. Swift herself has said that she was falling in love during the writing and recording of the album and this is evident in a number of the tracks, including 'Dress'.

Answer: Look What You Made Me Do

Swift co-wrote and produced 'Look What You Made Me Do' with Jack Antonoff and it was released as the debut single from 'Reputation' in 2017. It marked a radical change of direction for Swift both in terms of sound and image and became a global smash hit, topping singles charts all over the world, including the UK where it gave her her first number one single and the USA where it became one of the most streamed songs of the year.

The song's chorus interpolates the refrain from Right Said Fred's 1991 hit 'I'm Too Sexy'.

Answer: Don't Blame Me

'Don't Blame Me' is another stunning love song from 'Reputation'. After the success of her previous album, 2014's '1989', Taylor suffered from a severe media backlash which caused her to retreat from the spotlight for some time, taking a three year hiatus before releasing her sixth album. Given her issues with the media, Taylor Swift embarked on a much more minimal promotional campaign for 'Reputation' than she had undertaken for her previous release.

Answer: Getaway Car

'Getaway Car' was released as the sixth and final single from 'Reputation' in 2018. Taylor Swift wrote and produced the track with Jack Antonoff. The lyrics use the titular 'Getaway Car' as a metaphor for a doomed and short-lived romantic relationship. This extremely catchy song is reminiscent of the 80s-influenced synth pop sound of many of the tracks on Swift's previous album '1989'.

Answer: Delicate

'Delicate' was released as the fifth single from 'Reputation' in 2018. It became a modest hit all over the world and peaked at number twelve in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. This lovely song's lyrics deal with the anxiety and excitement present in the tentative early stages of a romantic relationship.

Answer: Call It What You Want

'Reputation' became a considerable global commercial hit. It was also accompanied by the 2018 'Reputation Stadium Tour' which became the highest grossing North American tour up to that time.

Answer: I Did Something Bad

While 'Reputation' was a commercial success and received Grammy nominations, contemporary critical opinion of the album was somewhat mixed. While many critics praised the daring change in tone and production others criticised the lyrical content and accused some of the songs of being repetitive.

Many critics have subsequently revised their initial negative reactions to the album and it is now widely considered to be a pivotal moment in Swift's career.

Answer: Dancing With Our Hands Tied

'Reputation' won many music industry awards from around the world and was included in many critics' lists of the best albums of 2017 and of the 2010s as a whole.

Answer: End Game

'End Game' is the third single to be taken from 'Reputation' and was released in 2017. It features guest vocals from American rapper Future and British singer Ed Sheeran.

Answer: Gorgeous

'Gorgeous' was released as a promotional download single in 2017 and reached the top twenty singles charts in several countries including the UK and USA.

Answer: New Year's Day

This lovely closing ballad from 'Reputation' is the only acoustic track on the album and sees Swift in reflective but optimistic mood as she contemplates cleaning up after a New Year's Eve party with her lover by her side. The song was released as the fourth single from the album in 2017 and was a critical success, though not necessarily a commercial one.

Answer: So It Goes

'Reputation' was Swift's last single released with her original label, Big Machine Records. This label had signed Swift as a young aspiring country musician and they released her eponymous debut album in 2006. She would go on to release five more albums with them before leaving them to sign with Universal after the release of 'Reputation.

Taylor Swift was apparently furious when Big Machine sold the rights to all of the music she had released through them to a third party, especially since she had been attempting to buy back these masters herself. As a result of this sale, Swift embarked on a project to re-record all of the songs which she released through Big Machine, thus reclaiming ownership of all of her music. At the time this quiz was written, she had released new recordings of all of her albums apart from 'Reputation' and her eponymous debut.

The originals are lovingly and faithfully recreated on the new recordings, whose titles bear the suffix 'Taylor's Version'. Each of the 'Taylor's Versions' also feature a number of 'From The Vault', previously unreleased songs which date from the time of the original recording sessions. So far, these have been an utter delight with the '1989' 'From The Vault' tracks being a particular highlight.